Masquerade
by NoShoesNoShirtNoSheldon
Summary: One of the Gaang kidnapped? No problem. Genius Sokka always has a master plan. Except this time, it doesn't exactly work out. And this time, it might be Sokka and Zuko who pay the price... SLASH. Sokka/Zuko (side Katara/Aang). Two-shot.
1. Part 1

**Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender**

**Author: NoShoesNoShirtNoSheldon**

**Title: Masquerade**

**Pairing(s): Sokka/Zuko, Aang/Katara**

**Rating: T**

**A/N: This is set sometime between the Boiling Rock and the Southern Raiders. I don't really know. Just ignore the awkward timing and enjoy. **

**Disclaimer: don't own.**

"You have got to be kidding me."

Zuko emerged from an adjacent room wearing elaborate and fancy robes in a deep shade of green, trimmed with a glittery earth brown colour. To complete the look, he had a glittery brown mask that covered just his eyes, held in place by elastic. He looked ready to go to a ball. He looked ready for an audience with an Earth King. He looked disgusted. "I look like an idiot. Why am I dressed like this again?"

Sokka watched as Katara stood up from her seat and approached him, adjusting his mask so it completely hid the scar on his face. Her face was stern and her tone was brisk. "Because you and Sokka have to get into the Baifong Masquerade Ball and cause a distraction, remember? And you're not going to get very far unless you look the part."

Sokka, dressed in the same robes but in a dark blue with glittery black trims and matching mask, pushed himself off the wall he had been leaning off and grinned at the prince. "Come on, Zuko. You're not going to pick up any of the fine ladies at the ball with a scowl on your face."

Said scowl deepened, and Zuko pulled away from Katara, crossing his arm over his chest. "We're not here to pick up ladies. Where is Aang, by the way?"

"Scouting the building for a way into the main hall, where the ball is being held," the waterbender answered, heading over to the door of the small room to check nobody was around. "We're lucky we found this storage room full of robes and masks, otherwise we'd have been toast."

"Why can't we just walk in?" Zuko asked, and Sokka snorted in amusement.

"Oh, Zuko," he clapped on hand on the taller boy's shoulder, shaking his head. "It's invitation only."

The firebender was about to snap something at him when Aang burst through the door, causing all of them to jump. "Aang!" Sokka squeaked when the airbender shut the door noisily. "We've got to be quiet!"

"Sorry!" he lowered his voice to a whisper. "Look, I found a bathroom that's right next to the main hall-"

"You don't have to be that quiet, Aang," Katara giggled.

The boy flushed and scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed grin. "Right," he nodded. "Okay, so the bathroom has an open window that you can climb through. You can wait in there until the ball is in full swing and then you can walk out and pretend you're just another guest. You go down the corridor, take a left, and exit the building through the second door you find. Go right for a few minutes and it should be the only window open for miles."

"Good work," Sokka nodded. They were standing in a loose circle, and all of them looked to the Water Tribe warrior for guidance. He was, after all, the plan guy. "Okay, so everyone remember what we're supposed to do?"

"Yup!" even though all of them knew the plan, Aang seemed to take that as an invitation to go over it again. "Zuko and Sokka infiltrate the ball and cause a big enough distraction to draw all the guards into the main hall. Katara and I will look for Toph and bust her out."

"Simple yet brilliant," Sokka sighed, wiping an imaginary tear from his cheek. He was such a great leader. Really, everyone should thank him once his plan worked perfectly.

"Except for the fact any number of things could go wrong," Zuko grumbled, crossing his arms.

"What do you mean by that?" Sokka scowled, pointing a finger in the prince's face.

"Well, what if we do the distraction, get kicked out, and the guards go back to their places before Katara and Aang find Toph?" Zuko growled, shoving Sokka's finger away.

"We can handle a few guards, Zuko," Katara sniffed.

Sokka rolled his eyes at his sister's attitude. She still held a grudge against the firebender for chasing them around the world and trying to kidnap Aang. He knew she was unconsciously blaming him for the death of their mother. But this was no time to take her aside and tell her to get a grip. Right now they had to focus on getting Toph back. She'd been gone for almost a full week now, kidnapped by her parents (well, that's a new one, Sokka thought, kidnapped by your own parents). None of them knew why she didn't just bust herself out. It was fairly obvious when she'd been taken that she hadn't wanted to go, so they didn't think she was staying on her own free will.

"We should go," Sokka gripped Zuko's arm. "The ball starts soon and we want to be in position. Katara, Aang, you guys have to wait here until we cause the distraction. You don't want to run into any guards on your search and raise an alarm."

"How will we know when you've caused your distraction?" Aang asked, scratching his head.

"Oh, you'll know," Sokka grinned wickedly. "Alright, Jerkbender, let's go."

He and Zuko crossed to the door of the tiny storage room and Zuko cracked it open. He glanced to both sides, checking the coast was clear, and then nodded. They both stepped outside and Sokka closed the door behind him. "So, what's this distraction we're going to do, anyway?" Zuko whispered as they crept down the narrow corridor they were in, both straining their ears to listen for any approaching footsteps.

"Actually, I have no idea," Sokka shrugged, going left once they came to a fork in the corridor. They found themselves in another empty corridor with two doors, one right at the end and one halfway down. "Something loud and showy."

"What!" Zuko hissed, grabbing the tanned boy's arm and yanking on it, forcing him to stop walking and face the prince. "You're telling me you don't even know what we're going to do?!"

Sokka opened his mouth to retort with what would have no doubt been a brilliant come back, but at that moment they heard the loud, boisterous voices of several guards coming closer. Blue and gold eyes widened behind masks, and Zuko reacted first, opening the door closest to them and slipping inside, pulling Sokka in with him and then shutting them in. It was completely dark and the warrior couldn't see a thing. They must have been in a supply closet, because the room was tiny and they were pressed up against each other, chest to chest. Sokka could feel something digging into his back and Zuko's breathing ruffling his hair, which he was wearing down (at Katara's insistence, the Baifong's could recognize him by hairstyles, apparently).

He heard the voices get closer, and Sokka tried his best to stay quiet, but his mouth was pressed up against Zuko's shoulder and he could hardly breathe. Each time he inhaled, he could smell smoke, tea leaves, and something he couldn't place but was unique to Zuko. It was a heady mixture and that, along with the lack of oxygen he was getting, left him feeling light headed.

The voices faded, but Zuko made no move to leave and Sokka didn't either. It was important they make sure the guards were really gone before they left the closet. The Water Tribe boy shifted, trying to get comfortable, and felt strong hands grab his arms. "Will you stop moving?" Zuko hissed. Sokka froze obediently, and they both stayed like that for a few minutes before it was safe to leave.

Once outside of the closet, Sokka stumbled a little due to the lightheadedness and stiffness in his body from staying still so long (okay, maybe it wasn't that long, but try having something digging into your back for five minutes and not being able to move). It was only Zuko's hand on his arm that kept him from falling. "Thanks," the warrior muttered, embarrassed.

"Don't mention it," the scarred boy replied.

Now they were out in the corridor again, they both headed towards the door at the end, and sure enough it led them outside of the large building. They headed right and Sokka kept an eye on the wall lined with windows so they wouldn't miss the open one.

"What I was about to say before you pulled me into that closet so you could feel me up," Sokka started, causing a scowl to form on Zuko's face, "is that it shouldn't be hard to figure out what to do once we get there. I mean, really, you could just set a table on fire. The screaming alone would cause enough noise to draw all the guards."

"Do we really want to draw attention to the fact I'm a firebender?" Zuko asked softly. "It's not exactly something that will earn me any points here."

"Hey, I think it's pretty cool," Sokka smiled at him. "I mean, yeah, it's the reason for this entire war, but being able to control any element is just awesome."

There was a hint of wistfulness in his voice, and Zuko watched him intently. After a moment, he said, "you hate that you're not a bender, don't you?"

Sokka shrugged, breaking eye contact to look at the wall of the building again as they walked. "It'd be pretty cool to bend an element, except maybe air because airbending is just prissy," here Zuko snorted in agreement, "but I've gotten used to being a non-bender in a group of benders. Besides, you'd all be lost without my amazing plans and inventions."

He grinned at Zuko, but the taller teen wasn't looking at him. Instead, he was pointing towards the building. "There's the open window."

Sokka approached it. The room inside was full of light, but the window was too high up for him to reach even if he went on tiptoe. Frowning, he turned to Zuko, who kneeled down in front of the window. "Stand on my shoulders."

He had no desire to stand on anyone's shoulders. For all he knew, Zuko would make him fall, purposely or not. Still, they had to get into the bathroom and this was the only way. Trusting Zuko, he carefully stood on the boy's shoulders, pressing his hands against the wall for support. Slowly and gently, Zuko rose from his kneeling position, and Sokka was finally able to reach the window. He clambered in and checked the small bathroom for anyone else. Once he was sure it was empty, he went back to the window and leaned out, holding out his hands. Zuko grasped them, and with much pulling and cursing and tugging, he managed to get Zuko through the window and into the bathroom.

Panting, he went and sat down on a wooden bench that was next to the hand basins. Zuko followed and they sat in silence for a few moments, catching their breaths. As was usual during the wait before Sokka had to carry out one of his plans, he found himself growing nervous. And when he was nervous, he had to talk. "Sooo," he leaned over, resting his chin on his hand and his elbow on his leg. "What do you see in that gloomy girl, anyway?"

"Mai?" Zuko shrugged and was seemingly staring at one of the hand basins. "She's pretty."

"Ehh," Sokka waved one hand. "Not my type."

Zuko snorted. "I'm guessing your type is that Kyoshi warrior we left behind."

"Suki?" Sokka leaned back up so he could look at Zuko. Suki had been left at their camp to hold fort with the other's while Aang, Katara, Sokka and Zuko went on this little rescue mission. "Nah, we broke up a little while ago."

And it hadn't been pleasant. Suki had demanded to know the reason and Sokka had no choice but to tell her. Sure, he tried lying, but somehow she could always tell, and with each lie she got angrier and angrier, so he'd just finally spat it out. And boy had she been shocked when he told her he was crushing on a certain firebender with anger management issues. And a little hurt when he explained that he'd figured it out back at the Boiling Rock, when he'd been more concerned about busting Zuko out than Suki.

"Oh really?" Zuko glanced over at him. It was weird seeing him all dressed up. He actually looked like a prince. "You don't seem too torn up about it."

"Yeah, well, it was for the best," Sokka scratched the back of his neck, finding it rather awkward to talk about his breakup with the other boy, considering the prince was the reason for it, after all. "Anyway, back to Mai. What's up with her voice? It's so... manly."

Zuko frowned at him, but he seemed to think about it, and then he frowned further. "...I guess it is kind of manly," he admitted, as if this were the first time he'd noticed, and, Sokka thought, it probably was.

"Oh boy," Sokka grinned, slapping Zuko hard on the back. "I think that's the entire reason you went for her. You're probably secretly into guys and she's such a manly chick that you can date her without being too grossed out by the fact she's a woman."

A snarl marred the crown prince's face, and he glared fiercely at Sokka. It was exactly the reaction the boy had been hoping for. Getting so angry about it might mean that he really _was _into guys and was angry Sokka had figured it out.

Of course, he could just be angry that Sokka was insulting his girlfriend. Damn it, why couldn't things just be straight forward?

"And maybe you're so sure I like guys because you like me," Zuko sneered in response. Was it just Sokka, or was his tone just the tiniest bit defensive? "Maybe _you're _the one who likes guys, and you're just trying to project it onto me."

Well, fuck.

He was pretty darn accurate with that one.

"What kind of a come back is that?" Sokka snorted, trying to play it cool. "You didn't even deny my claim that you're gay."

"You didn't deny my claim, either!"

"You're still not denying it."

"And neither are you!"

"Well, _someone's _getting a bit defensive."

There was a long pause in which they glared at each other. After a moment Zuko looked away and sighed, running a hand through his hair. Sokka's expression softened now that the bender wasn't looking. "I'm on edge because you keep bringing Mai up," Zuko explained hoarsely, avoiding eye contact. "We broke up a while ago, too."

"Why didn't you just tell me?" Sokka raised his eyebrows. Inside, he was doing a little victory dance. He was single, the prince was single... Oh, this was just perfect.

"Because at least I could claim I had one relationship that wasn't completely fucked up," Zuko crossed his arms over his chest. "I mean, seriously. My father attacks me and then banishes me, my sister blackmails me, I have no idea what happened to my mother and the only man I considered to be a father-like-figure probably hates my guts right about now."

Sokka wasn't even sure what the hell the guy was going on about, but he felt sympathy all the same. But still, Sokka wasn't a very sensitive guy, and he wasn't exactly great at saying the right things. "You think Mai was your only normal relationship?" he snickered. "She was incapable of showing emotion. That's kind of fucked up," he paused when Zuko glared at him, before trying again. "Well, what about your friendships with our group?"

"Oh, yeah," Zuko rolled his eyes. "I used to chase you around the world and you only let me into the group because you needed a firebending teacher for Aang. Not fucked up at all."

Sokka opened his mouth to argue, but a loud voice sounded from outside the door, echoing throughout the entire building. "Welcome to the Baifong Masquerade Ball! Dinner will be served in two hours! Until then, enjoy the music!"

Once the voice faded, Sokka heard music begin to play and he stood up, all thoughts of their conversation forgotten. "Looks like its time to get out of here."

Zuko stood beside him, wearing a matching determined expression. They both exited the bathroom and took a couple of steps into the main hall. It was huge, probably big enough to fit ten Appa's, and there were what looked like thousands of people milling about, all in fancy dress with masks. There was a raised circle of earth in the middle of the room, and on top of it was the band, about ten people each playing a different instrument. There were hundreds of tables and chairs littered around the room, and one gigantic table holding enough snacks and drinks to feed Sokka's entire village for a year at least.

And... the people surrounding them were staring at them. Shit, they were supposed to be fitting in.

One girl approached them, covering her hand with her mouth to try and hide her giggling. "You know, if you're going to have sex in the bathrooms, at least make sure you're in the men's," she whispered as she passed him. He turned to see her go into the bathroom he and Zuko had just left, and displayed clearly on the door was a picture of a woman in a dress.

Damn it, he was going to kill Aang.

He glanced at Zuko, and was satisfied to see the bender was just as embarrassed as he was. They began to move through the crowd, making sure not to get separated, and ended up near the food table. Sokka snagged a interesting looking bit of meat on a stick and tore at it, glancing around the hall. It's smoky flavour almost made him moan in delight, and he reached for more, but Zuko slapped his hand. "We're here for Toph, not food."

"Come on, you should try some," Sokka picked up some sort of meat ball and shoved half of it into Zuko's mouth, who coughed and spluttered. "It's good, right?"

"It doesn't matter!" Zuko snarled after managing to swallow the meat and wiping his mouth.

"Aww," the warrior whined, sticking out his lower lip in a pout, but Zuko just glared at him. Sighing, Sokka finished off the remaining half of the meatball and moved closer to the taller boy so they could talk without being overheard. "So what do you think? Any ideas coming to mind or should we just go with the lighting a table on fire thing?"

Zuko waited for an elderly man to move some distance away from them before speaking. "If we want to attract all the guards, we're going to have to fight and defeat the ones already in this room," he paused and glanced down at Sokka. "We have to make sure everyone thinks we're just some kids trying to cause trouble. If Toph's parents figure out who we are, they'll know what we're trying to do immediately and everything will go wrong."

"Alright..." Sokka looked to his left and saw one guard on his own, leaning against the wall. All of the guards were wearing the same brown and black uniform with a simple black mask, so it wasn't too hard to tell who was a guard and who wasn't. He suddenly missed his space sword, but he hadn't been able to bring it in without causing suspicion. Instead, he had a sharp dagger hidden in his robes. He placed his hand on the hilt but didn't pull it out. He'd only use it if it was life and death. He was just thanking his lucky stars none of the guards were earthbenders. "What if I go bug that guard until he attacks me and you firebend a little circle around us so all the guests will run away? We should probably avoid getting them hurt if we can help it."

"It'll attract all the guards in this room for sure," Zuko nodded. "And if we defeat them, one of the guests is bound to raise an alarm that will bring all the other guards too."

"Alright," Sokka nudged Zuko's side with his elbow. "Follow me."

He led the way to the guard and began to try and act like a kid looking for trouble. "Hey mister!" he called to the guard, who looked at him with a bored expression. "Where's your boyfriend on a night like this?"

"Screw off, kid," the man growled, jabbing a finger into Sokka's chest. "You don't want to mess with me."

"Oh please, you look like you couldn't even pick up a rock, let alone fight me," Sokka scoffed, batting away the finger and making sure to be rough about it. "Bet you I could take you down in two seconds flat."

"I said screw off," the man's fists clenched at his sides.

"What're you gunna do about it?" Sokka smirked. "Don't be such a baby."

He'd barely even begun to insult the guy, but the man had apparently had enough. With a roar, he threw himself at Sokka, drawing his fist back in a clear attempt to punch him in the face.

Boy, this guy had worse anger issues than Zuko.

At least he hadn't drawn his sword.

Sokka dropped down low and the man's momentum was too much for him to stop. He tripped over Sokka's body and landed flat on his face. The warrior stood, glancing around. A lot of people had noticed, but the men yelling at him to stop being a troublesome kid weren't guards. Zuko stepped in between Sokka and the crowd and thrust his arms outwards. A great jet of fire burst from his hands and formed a ring around himself, Sokka and the guard. Screams erupted and the people closest to them began to push at others in an attempt to get away from the fire.

The man was up again and charging. Sokka ducked the punch that was thrown at his face and head butted the guy in the gut. He began to pull away but the guard grabbed a hold of his loose hair and yanked on it, bringing the warrior down on top of him.

He was going to tell Katara exactly what he thought of her making him wear his hair down as soon as all this was over.

"Guards!" he heard Zuko bark roughly.

Knowing he'd have to deal with this guy quickly, he wrestled for a moment, taking a hard knock to his hip before he managed to slam his elbow into the man's face and knock him out. He stood and looked around. Outside of Zuko's ring of fire were maybe fifty or sixty men, all dressed in the brown and black uniform and all looking pretty damn angry.

Sokka gulped and grabbed the unconscious man's sword off him. He felt a lot better with it in his hands. He could fight.

"Think we can take them?" he asked Zuko as he strode up next to him, ignoring the ache in his hip.

"We're going to have to," was the grim reply.

There was a pause before Zuko jerked his arms. His fire broke it's ring formation and formed a long whip. Another jerk of his arms and the whip lashed out at the first line of men and knocked them off their feet. The first line managed to knock down most of the second line too, but a good amount of them just got up again. It was moments like these when Sokka really wished he had bending abilities. Being able to slam some earth into these jerks would be a welcome gift. He'd even settle for airbending if he had to.

Zuko snapped the whip again but this time the men were expecting it. Most of them got out of the way in time and while Zuko was distracted, they all began to charge, swords drawn. Sokka let out a warrior's cry and ran towards them, sword outstretched. He swung at the first man and it clanged against the man's sword so hard it flew out of his hands and clattered to the floor, skidding a little way away. Zuko managed to pick it up, and now the teen was twice as deadly with a sword in one hand and fire in the other.

Water Tribe warrior and Fire Nation prince moved towards each other, ending up standing back to back as the guards formed a tight circle around them. And the fight began.

To Sokka it was just a blur of flesh and metal, sometimes fire. Each time it got to the point they could barely breathe, Zuko would once again form the fire ring and give them a little time to recover. Eventually he became aware of the fact that the entire hall was empty save for the ones in the fight. All the guests had fled. Hopefully the others guards would start coming in and-

There!

Over Zuko's shoulder he saw guards marching into the hall through various entry points. The sheer number of them make his heart skip a beat. How on earth had he thought he and Zuko would be able to defeat every single guard? They should have brought Suki. Hell, they should have brought all of the Kyoshi warriors plus Appa. Maybe then they'd stand a fighting chance. They might have both been extraordinary swordsmen and Zuko may have been a powerful bender, but even the greatest power can be overcome by sheer numbers.

They managed to hang on for another twenty minutes or so, but it was hard to tell the time when you're too busy swinging a sword. Sokka tried to just knock out each of his opponents, or at worst stab them in the leg so they couldn't get up, but the guards were ruthless and several times he had to deal what he knew were killing blows. It shattered him, but he knew it was necessary.

Zuko was fighting like a madman behind him. Everytime the Water Tribe boy caught a glimpse of him, he'd see a fierce snarl on the bender's lips and he'd be stabbing his sword at someone even as he set fire to another's uniform. There were so many fallen guards around them, and they managed to take out a huge chunk of their numbers, but they both began to tire and there were plenty of men who were still fresh. Eventually Zuko had gotten to the point where he couldn't even form the fire ring, and they were overwhelmed.

They got Sokka first. One of the men managed to disarm him, and when his sword clattered to the floor, another grabbed him by his collar and yanked him forwards. Sokka tried to fight his way out, but there were too many men. He felt one of them slam the hilt of his sword into the warrior's face and he slumped to the ground, eyes closing. The last thing he remembered hearing was Zuko screaming at him.

Aang and Katara had been quietly discussing what they thought had happened between Sokka and Suki when the screaming started. Katara made to open the door but Aang grabbed her arm, stopping her. "Wait! They could come by here."

The girl nodded and they waited around ten minutes. The screaming had stopped a while ago and no one had gone past their little room in some time. Feeling safe enough, the two left the room and began to search the building. Whatever Sokka and Zuko's distraction had been, it had worked, because the corridors were empty of any other being. Katara moved closer to Aang and slid her hand in his. They searched each room like that, making sure not to miss any.

Lady Luck must have been on their side, because they found Toph in record timing, and she wasn't even guarded. She had been locked away in a back room, asleep on a cot. The rest of the room was bare. Katara moved to her and shook her shoulder, but the girl didn't wake. "She must be drugged. That's why she hasn't gotten out of here herself."

"Well, well, well, smart girl."

Katara and Aang whirled around, and their eyes widened at the sight of Azula standing in the open doorway, a smirk on her face. "What are you doing here!" Katara cried, pointing at the princess.

Azula began to pick at one of her fingernails, looking bored. "Oh, one of my spies informed me that the little blind girl in your group had been taken and was being held here. I knew the Avatar would follow so I decided to stick close and wait. Looks like I was right."

Okay, Lady Luck was so not on their side.

Aang moved his body so he was standing between Katara and Azula. He didn't want the spoilt Fire princess to get anywhere near the girl he loved. Holding his hands in a defensive position, he prepared himself for when Azula would no doubt attack. "Well too bad for you, you came all this way for nothing."

"Did I really?" this seemed to amuse the ravenette greatly, and she let out a great mocking laugh. "You can't fight me and defend the unconscious girl and the weak waterbender at the same time, you know."

"He doesn't have to defend me," Katara spat, eyes narrowed with hatred. "And I am _not _weak!"

She uncorked the skin full of water that was always at her hip, bending the water out of the skin and letting it hover in front of her, ready to use at a moments notice. "You act like waterbending is no match for firebending," the girl snarled. "But don't you see? Water douses flames."

Apparently Azula had tired of the talking, because a horrible sneer deformed her face and she thrust her fist forward, hot fire erupting and heading straight towards Katara. Aang made to stop it, but Katara had already used her water to stop the attack. She laughed, and it sounded eerily like Azula's own mad laugh. It was time to settle a score.

**Part 1 finished. Part 2 will come soon! Hope you guys liked and don't forget to REVIEW!**


	2. Part 2

**Welcome back. Here's part 2! **

The first thing Sokka became aware of was the pounding in his head, and the aches in every single part of his body imaginable. Second came the taste of dried blood in his mouth, and third was the smell of it. Eventually he came to enough to be able to open his eyes.

He was sitting on the ground, his back pressed up against someone else's back, and they were tied together tightly. He was in a small storage room, and there was no one else there. He didn't bother hoping that he could escape, though. He knew there was probably ten guards right outside the door. The room was filled with boxes, and he vaguely wondered what was in them.

His mind was slowly beginning to work at full capacity again, and he realized that the person he was tied to was most likely Zuko. One turn of his head had him gasping in pain, but he caught sight of the green robes and knew it was definitely his favourite firebender. One glance down told him they weren't simply tied together but chained. Well, there goes his idea of getting Zuko to firebend their way out.

After a moment he shifted, bucking his body to jostle Zuko, despite the sharp pains it caused him. "Psst! Wake up!"

A sleepy grumble, no more. Impatient, Sokka once again bucked, this time harder. "Oi, Jerkbender! Wake up and help me out here!"

"Fuck off," came the muttered reply. The bender sounded like he was in a fair amount of pain, but Sokka felt no sympathy. The Water Tribe warrior had taken some pretty hard blows too.

"Zuko, you pompous son of a bitch, I need you, _now_," the warrior hissed.

He felt the other teen shift slightly and heard a groan escape him. "Okay, okay, sheesh."

Satisfied that the bender was sufficiently awake, he tried to brainstorm ways of escaping. "Hey, can you burn through metal?"

"If I weren't chained to you, yes," Zuko muttered tiredly.

"What do you mean by that?" Sokka frowned.

"To melt through metal I have to increase the temperature of whatever part of my body the metal is touching to extremely high degrees. It won't harm me, but I need to be completely calm and focused, otherwise I'll lose control and end up burning you."

"Then don't get distracted, Sifu Hotman," Sokka scowled, deciding to borrow Aang's nickname for the prince, just to piss him off.

"The type of concentration required to do what you're asking would be hard to achieve even if I were meditating alone in my room! Let alone chained to an obnoxious water rat feeling like I've had my head caved in," Zuko snarled viciously. "And don't call me that!"

Well, someone had woken up on the wrong side of the bed.

Wait, they weren't on a bed. Floor? Yeah, let's go with floor.

Someone had woken up on the wrong side of the floor.

Wrong side of the floor, Sokka thought with a grin, I've still got it.

"Zuko-" Sokka began, but he stopped when he heard a voice from outside the room. It was obviously one of the guards, and he listened intently.

"Yes, sir, we've got them chained up tight, sir!"

A faint murmur that Sokka couldn't make out.

"No, sir! The firebender is unconscious, sir!"

"Hah," Zuko snorted quietly. Sokka shushed him. There was another murmur. Abruptly, the guard's voice lost it's rigidity and he now sounded like an actual human, rather than a machine following orders.

"W-What? But sir... they're just children."

"I DON'T CARE!" the other voice was finally loud enough for them to hear, and they both winced at the volume. "THEY TOOK OUT OVER HALF OF MY GUARDS!"

"But sir, to kill them-"

"GET IT DONE, KUZON."

"...yes, sir."

Ice filled Sokka's veins, and it was suddenly very hard to breathe. They were going to be killed. They wouldn't be able to do a damn thing about it. They wouldn't-

"Zuko! Melt the chains!" it was their last chance, and Sokka figured he'd rather be burned than dead.

"What? No!" the firebender argued.

"_Just do it!_" Sokka hissed, and Zuko went silent. He was about to try again when he felt Zuko's body heat go up quite noticeably. Where they had skin to skin contact (the back of their arms that were pressed together, for instance), it started to feel kind of uncomfortable.

He began to hear a dripping sound and craned his neck to try and see what it was. He saw metal melting and dripping to the floor where it sizzled and spat. Relieved that it was working, he relaxed and let Zuko do what he did best.

Voices sounded outside the door again, words that chilled Sokka to the bone, despite the fact it was overheated in the small room. "Kalan, get the ceremonial dagger. Chief wanted it to be as painful as possible."

Zuko jerked at the words and his concentration must have broken because suddenly the backs of Sokka's arms felt like they were on fire, and he bit back a scream of agony. The feeling persisted, making it harder and harder for the warrior to hold back his cries, and he could feel Zuko shaking behind him. Sokka tried to force himself not to look down at his arms. But curiosity won out, and he glanced down, half expecting to see his skin melting off.

The were deep red burn marks just visible from his line of sight on the backs of his arms, nothing more. He was relieved, but still in an enormous amount of pain. It went like that for some time until he felt the chains, which had previously been pulled tight, slacken around him. Zuko stood quickly and the chains fell to the floor. Sokka felt immediate relief as the firebender's skin left his. He saw a whole section of the chains had been melted to liquid. He was too slow to stand, so Zuko pulled him up.

That's when he saw the tears on the bender's face.

He'd never seen Zuko cry before, and it was shocking to see proof that the boy could actually feel anything other than annoyance, anger, and more anger. The bender was checking over the burns on Sokka's arms, and the warrior could see actual regret in those gold eyes. Ignoring the searing pain every time he moved his arms, he gripped Zuko's shoulder and squeezed. "It's okay. It was necessary."

He'd never been good at reading emotions before, and he was surprised he knew the exact reason for the tears. Despite Zuko's brash, angry nature, he was genuinely guilty for knowingly causing Sokka harm, despite knowing that he had to do it if he wanted them to escape. That fact alone made the pain a bit more bearable.

Hot damn. If he hadn't been attracted to Zuko before, he certainly was now.

"Are you okay to fight?"

Zuko's voice was even more raspy due to the tears he was now wiping at viciously, as if he were embarrassed by them. It sent a shiver right down Sokka's spine and goddamn he needed to get a grip and focus on the matter at hand.

"Sure I am," he forced a smile, despite the fact he wasn't even sure he'd be able to walk after a while.

"Good," Zuko nodded and took an offensive position by the door, waiting for one of the guards to open it up. Hopefully the prince's time spent unconscious had recharged him enough for another fight.

Sokka patted at his robes, searching for the dagger he'd hidden in them. Unsurprisingly, it was gone. With a sigh, he moved closer to Zuko who, Sokka was beginning to realize, was the battle drained warrior's only protection.

The two guards were expecting both of them to be unconscious and chained, so when the door opened they weren't taking any precautions. Zuko was able to knock them out quite neatly and he dragged them into the store room, starting to strip them of their uniforms. "Hurry up," he hissed at Sokka, who had just been staring at the bender. "Lets get out of these robes and try to pass for guards."

His voice jostled Sokka out of the exhausted trance he'd slipped into, and the warrior began tugging at the uniform of the guard who looked closest to his size. He tried to avoid looking at Zuko as they changed, but his eyes refused to listen to orders and they strayed over to the bender almost at once.

Sokka decided he liked the prince's hair the way it was now. Better than the stupid ponytail it used to be in, back when he'd been a psychotic idiot trying to capture Aang. Trailing his gaze from hair to face, Sokka's eyes automatically rested on the scar that was visible now that Zuko had taken off his mask. Damn, it looked painful. But it didn't really take away the bender's obvious good-looks. If anything, it added to it. The gold eyes were kind of pretty, especially when they were filled with emotion. Usually the emotion was anger, but still.

His lips were pursed into a frown. Sokka had spent a lot of time meditating on those lips, and he knew they looked much better when curved into a smile. Much more kissable then, too. Moving down from the face was broad, strong shoulders and hard stomach, both porcelain white. Hot damn, the prince must work out all day every day. His body was amazing.

Sokka tore his eyes away and concentrated on getting changed. He was beginning to get a little hot and bothered, and he needed to focus on the task at hand, not on his sick fantasies. The uniform fit him pretty well, although Zuko's was a little too small. Regardless, it would have to do.

"Alright," Zuko said once they had finished changing. "Lets go."

"Hold on," Sokka approached him and leaned up. Zuko flinched, his eyes widening, but all the warrior did was adjust the black mask that came with the uniform so it covered the scar. "Jumpy, much?" Sokka muttered in a low voice as he moved away, but Zuko ignored him and turned towards the door again.

"Come on."

"Just like old times, huh?" Sokka forced a grin despite the pain in his body as they crept down the dim corridor outside of the little room. Sure, Zuko was probably used to dealing with pain, but the Water tribesman was used to soft beds and gentle treatment. Back in the room, it was easy enough to ignore the pain because he'd been so focused on Zuko. Now, he was having a hard time not limping. He used the conversation to try and distract the other boy from noticing how bad Sokka was hurting. "When we were pretending to be guards at the Boiling Rock?"

"Hn," Zuko checked around a corner. "Hopefully this time I won't get myself caught because I'm helping you sneak into your girlfriend's room so you two can make out." His voice held a hint of bitterness.

"Hey, I said I was sorry," Sokka pouted, trying to hide the pain in his voice. "And besides, she's not my girlfriend anymore. I think you're safe."

A pair of guards passed them. Sokka and Zuko stiffened, but the disguises worked well because the guards barely even spared them a glance. Once they were gone, both boys let out relieved sighs and relaxed. Zuko continued walking and Sokka followed. "Where do you think Aang and Katara are?"

Just as he said it, he opened a door and they abruptly heard obvious sounds of fighting somewhere down the new corridor they found themselves in. "Probably down there," Sokka said helpfully, pointing in the direction the noises were coming from. Zuko rolled his eyes and started to jog. Sokka followed at a slower rate, too sore to go too fast.

"Is that all you've got, water tribe peasant?" a loud female voice laughed.

"Azula?" Zuko was at a full out run now, and Sokka followed him around a corner and into a small room. Inside was Aang, Katara, Toph and Azula.

Katara and Azula were fighting hard, each trying to get an upper hand on the other, but they were pretty evenly matched. The look on Aang's face was tortured, but he stayed by the unconscious body of Toph, making sure Azula wouldn't try and attack her. He obviously wanted to help Katara but couldn't.

Zuko let out a roar and blasted searing hot fire at his sister. The princess blocked the attack and stared at her brother for a few seconds. In that time, the prince moved to stand beside Katara and they both took offensive stances. The girl seemed to weigh her chances before sending blasts of fire at the two and then turning on her heel and running for the door. Sokka, who was standing right in the way, let out a squeak that was embarrassingly girly and dived out of her path. Zuko, after having blocked the blasts of fire, tried to follow her but by the time he got out of the room, his sister was already gone. Cursing, he walked back in and helped Sokka up from the spot on the floor that he'd thrown himself to.

"I can't believe she keeps getting away," he grumbled. He was supporting Sokka, who was leaning heavily on him. Mostly because the dive to the floor had knocked him around and put him in even more pain, but also because he wanted to be closer to the firebender. "Are you two alright?"

"Fine," Katara snapped at him, moving to where Toph was unconscious on the bed. She shook the younger girl and splashed water on her face, but the earthbender didn't stir. "Looks like you'll have to carry her, Aang."

"No problem," the airbender scooped Toph up into his arms with ease. For such a small boy, he was deceptively strong. "We should get going before we get caught. What happened to your robes, by the way?"

"Long story," Zuko grunted. He'd placed an arm around Sokka's waist and began to help the warrior stumble out of the room. Aang, Katara and Toph followed behind them. A few guards, who'd probably been drawn by the fighting, came a corner but Katara easily knocked them out and they ran on. One door later and they were outside. Sokka breathed in the fresh air and he felt a little better. He could probably run on his own but he liked the feel of Zuko's arm around his waist, so he continued to let the firebender drag him along.

"Appa is this way!" Aang called out, racing to the front even as he carried Toph over one shoulder. His words were unnecessary because the whole group (save Toph) had been there when he'd hid the bison, but none of them bothered telling the boy so.

Forests surrounded the large building the Baifong Ball had been held in, and they crashed through the trees, running as hard as they could. Already they could hear shouts behind them, a lady screaming at guards to go after them.

"Appa!" Aang cried, and they heard a loud roar in response. The sky bison crawled out from under the poorly constructed den of leaves he'd made for himself and shook himself off. Aang airbended himself onto the beast's saddle and set Toph down before sitting on Appa's head and grabbing the reins. "Come on, guys!"

Katara scrambled up and held out her hand for Sokka, who couldn't climb onto Appa on his own. Zuko gave him a boost and Katara managed to pull him up as Zuko was pushing him. Exhausted, Sokka lay down in the saddle, trying not to let anything touch his burned arms. Zuko sat beside him as Katara went to work on their various injuries.

"Yip yip!" Aang shouted to Appa, and the great beast groaned before lifting off into the air. There was yelling from the ground as the guards saw the bison, and one of them threw a dagger. It whistled past without hitting anyone and the group allowed themself to relax when Appa flew out of range.

"It's over," Katara sighed, moving over to Toph and patting her cheek. Finally there was a response.

Toph stirred and sat up groggily.

"Hey guys, what'd I miss?"

Sokka was sitting in a pretty abandoned area of the Western Air Temple, trying to relax. He'd just had another fight with Suki and it hadn't been pretty. She and Katara had been furious that Zuko had burned him, refusing to listen to him when he tried to explain that it had been necessary. He'd ended up yelling at them, despite his easy going nature, and then stomping off to the room he was in now. Katara hadn't been able to heal the burns on his arms, and they still hurt quite a bit. Sokka reached one hand out to run his fingers gently over the reddened skin of the opposite arm, wincing as he did so.

"You're still in pain."

Sokka glanced up to see Zuko entering the room, striding over to him. The warrior shrugged as the prince kneeled in front of him, and he arranged his face to look unconcerned. "A bit, I guess. I can handle it."

"I know what its like to get burn scars," Zuko murmured, touching his scar briefly before his hand dropped to his side. "I know how much pain you're in right now. It was hard for me to continue melting through those chains knowing that I was hurting you..." he glanced down before looking up again. "Firebenders can draw some of the heat out of burns, take away a little of the pain. My uncle did it for me. I can do it for you."

The bender leaned forward, his arms going around Sokka to reach the burns on the backs of his arms. His fingers pressed gently against the burns, but Sokka didn't notice the slight pain. He was more preoccupied with the fact Zuko's face was now extremely close to his. He felt a weird tingling sensation where the burns were, and the pain in the was dimmed. The relief was immediate, and a smile settled on his face.

"Is that better?" Zuko was watching his face closely.

Oh man. The bender's breath was fluttering over Sokka's face and the warrior's control just snapped. Without even thinking about what he was doing, he grabbed a hold of the front of Zuko's robes and dragged him forward, capturing his lips in a fierce kiss.

The prince froze, his whole body going rigid as Sokka kissed him. The water tribesman took advantage of the fact the boy was too shocked to push him away and tried to commit the feel of Zuko's lips against his own to memory before he reluctantly pulled away. He opened his eyes and looked at the bender's face, and saw him go from shocked and out of it to angry in about two seconds flat.

Shit. This wasn't going to end well.

A low growl escaped the prince's lips, and Sokka winced, expecting to have his ass kicked, but instead Zuko pressed forward again, taking hold of Sokka's wrists in one hand, pinning them together and between their chests as the other hand gripped brown hair and yanked Sokka's head back up. With that done, the banished prince lowered his head and resumed the kiss, hard.

It was a hell of a lot different kissing Zuko when the boy was actually participating. This time Sokka's pulse was hammering, sweat broke out on his brow, and sparks of pleasure originated in his lips and then travelled down to settle low in his gut. With his hands pinned, he couldn't wrap his arms around the prince and draw him closer, but knowing he was being so utterly dominated definitely made something stir in his pants.

He'd just let out a little moan as Zuko nipped at his lower lip when they heard a voice shouting at them from the door. Startled, they pulled away and looked to see Toph standing there with a huge grin. "FINALLY! And all it took was me getting kidnapped for you two to get around to kissing."

Sokka's cheeks flushed and one glance at Zuko told him the firebender was blushing madly as well. The prince had let go of him completely and moved away. Toph was cackling madly. "Thank God, I don't think I could have taken another night sensing your hearts racing whenever the other goes anywhere near you without screaming at you both to just get it on already."

After a moment of awkward silence she rolled her eyes. "Right. Anyway. Zuko, Aang wanted to see you."

Zuko nodded and stood. Toph left the room and the bender started to follow. Gulping, Sokka stood, noticing that the pain in his arms was practically nothing now. "Zuko, wait!"

The prince paused, turning to look at Sokka. The warrior suddenly felt as if his mouth were full of sand and he couldn't think of anything to say for the life of him. Zuko chuckled and winked at him before turning towards the doorway. "We should do this again sometime."

Sokka couldn't help but think, well of course we fucking will! as the bender moved out of sight.

Toph re-entered the room and stood there with her arms crossed, grinning at him. She seemed to be waiting for him to say something, so he shot her a glare. "You have the worst timing in history."

"You're welcome."

**And there we have it! Masquerade is over and done. Hope you guys enjoyed and don't forget to REVIEW!**


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